When Apple announced that it had dropped Google Maps in favor of its very own mapping service during its announcement of iOS 6, expectations were high for the Cupertino company. Google Maps had been very successful, and there were big shoes to fill for Apple. However, when the service launched, it became a huge flop. Directions were constantly misleading, and there were a ton of hilarious mistakes in imaging, like the Brooklyn Bridge being incredibly distorted. (If you’re looking for some Maps humor, check out this Tumblr page.) Fortunately, since the disastrous launch, and quick apology by Tim Cook, it appears that the company has been working around the clock to fix its own app.

Recently, Apple has been working on acquiring smaller companies to help improve its maps. It was rumored that Tim Cook and Co. were hoping to purchase Waze, the popular social mapping app, which was then purchased by Google. However, recently the company acquired HopStop, a transit app, and today it was revealed that it has also purchased Embark, another popular transit app. While Appley would not say more than confirm the acquisition, it is assumed that features from Embark may be implemented into iOS Maps to improve transit and the overall user experience.

While Apple Maps may not be the most popular choice among people searching for navigation, it is good to see that the company is working towards a better experience for users in the end.

About Griffin Koupal

Griffin is currently studying finance in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., but is originally from the great state of Kansas. He loves writing about technology, and is the proud owner of an iPhone 5 and iPad mini.

This is great news. Because of the improvements and corrections made to Apple Maps, I am now using it as much as I would google maps. I love both maps and ecstatic that apple will now implement transit information into their maps.

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